Unit 1 members approved a new Unit 1 Benefits Model at the December General Membership meeting.  The new benefits model will take effect on January 1, 2011.

Please read this annoucement carefully.  The new Unit 1 benefits model will have a significant impact on benefits claims procedures and, depending on when you make your claim, the amount of money you may be entitled to receive.

NOTE: These changes DO NOT affect your Unit 1 Dental Benefits

1) NEW BENEFITS MODEL OVERVIEW

Non-Dental benefits come from a $150,000 benefits fund, which the Employer is mandated to provide us with under the terms of our collective agreement.

Under our current benefits model, individuals are entitled to a maximum of $250/two years for vision care, $100/year for UHIP, and $100/year for childcare.  Claims are processed throughout the academic year on a first come, first serve basis.  Members always receive the maximum amount to which they are entitled, regardless of the amount of money remaining in the benefits fund.

Under the new benefits model, individual entitlements remain the same.  Total benefits expenditures for Vision and UHIP will be capped at $90,000 and $30,000 respectively during the regular academic year (September – April) OR until the cap is reached (whichever comes first).  A small amount of money ($20,000 for Vision; $5,000 for UHIP) will be held back for the summer months.

During the regular academic year (or until the cap is reached), Vision and UHIP claims will be processed on a first come, first serve basis.  Members will receive the maximum amount to which they are entitled.  During the summer months (or after the cap is reached), all claims are processed and reimbursed at the end of the semester.  Individual reimbursements will depend on how much money is left in the benefits fund. In other words, members who claim during the summer months will have their maximum entitlement reduced in years with high benefits expenditures. In years with low benefits expenditures, the maximum entitlement will not change during the summer months.

Childcare benefit expenses are negligible at present and will not be subject to a cap.

The maximum individual reimbursement is the lesser of the remaining funds divided by the number of claims and the current benefit ($250 for Vision; $100 for UHIP).

2) INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS UNDER THE NEW MODEL

 
VISION CARE
Entitlement: The maximum entitlement remains $250 / two years.
Claims Procedure: Vision Care claims are processed on a first come first serve basis during the Fall and Winter terms (or until expenditures reach the $90,000 cap).During this period, the amount of money applied for is the amount members will receive.
During the Summer terms (or after the $90,000 cap is reached), vision care claims are held until the end of the term. The maximum amount members receive depends on how much money is left in the Vision care fund. In some years, members will still be entitled to claim the maximum. In other years, members may be entitled to less than $250.

UHIP
Entitlement: The maximum entitlement remains $100/ year.
Claims Procedure:  UHIP claims are processed on a first come first serve basis during the Fall and Winter terms (or until expenditures reach the $30,000 cap).During this period, the amount of money applied for is the amount members will receive.
During the Summer terms (or after the $30,000 cap is reached), UHIP claims are held until the end of the term. The maximum amount members receive depends on how much money is left in the Vision care fund. In some years, members will still be entitled to $100, In other years, members may be entitled to less than $100.

CHILDCARE:
Entitlement: The maximum entitlement remains $100/ year.
Claims procedure: Childcare claims are processed on a first come, first serve basis throughout the academic year.

3) WHY WAS A NEW BENEFITS MODEL NECESSARY?

Over the past five years, Unit 1 benefits expenditures have frequently exceeded the amount of money the Employer is obligated to provide for benefits under the collective agreement.We attempted to negotiate a reasonable increase to benefits funds during the last round of bargaining, but the Employer refused to contribute any new money to benefits—even after Unit 1 members went on strike.

After a week on strike, in November 2009 a slim majority of Unit 1 members voted to accept a collective agreement that did not include any new money for benefits. During the negotiation process, the bargaining team repeatedly informed Unit 1 members that: a) their benefits funds were in deficit and b) ratification of this agreement would result in benefits cuts.

The upcoming changes to Unit 1 benefits are necessary to restore the fiscal health of our over-stretched benefits funds in the absence of any new money for benefits from the Employer.

3) HOW WAS THE CAPPED MODEL CHOSEN?

The benefits committee investigated several ways of achieving an overall reduction in Unit 1 benefits expenditures. We distilled our research down into three different benefits reduction models, which we brought to the membership for discussion at the October and December GMMs.One of these models was a straight reduction to individual benefits entitlements. The other two were capped distribution models. After a thorough discussion, the membership voted to accept the capped distribution model presented here.

Interested members can read the minutes of this discussion at the next General Membership Meeting.